Cheng Pei-pei, who memorably starred in Ang Lee's Oscar-nominated film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, died Thursday at 78 in the San Francisco Bay Area from a degenerative brain disease.

Cheng Pei-pei, the Chinese-born actor who starred in Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and King Hu's "Come Drink With Me," has died. She was 78. Cheng, considered a pioneer of martial arts ...